India’s earthquake monitoring agency NCS said the temblor that struck Myanmar and Thailand Friday afternoon caused severe damage because its shaking frequency matched the natural vibration of buildings.

Soil liquefaction — when soil loses its characteristics and behaves like thick liquid — was also one of the reasons for damage, O P Mishra, the head of the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), said.

Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, which is over a thousand kilometres from the epicentre in Mandalay, Myanmar, suffered significant damage as the rupture’s direction was toward it, he said.

The NCS said that seven aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 3.5 to 7, followed the main earthquake of magnitude 7.5, which struck Mandalay around 11:50 am (IST).

Northeast India also felt the main earthquake and its aftershocks.